By Jeffrey D. Wagner Herald News

WESTPORT After town beaches were closed to swimming on Wednesday, Beach Committee members discussed an important topic how to keep the three town beaches even safer.

Committee members met with head lifeguards at Thursdays committee meeting and discussed how Wednesdays closure went concluding that people were kept safe and there were no major problems.

The waters and the impact of Hurricane Gert subsided on Thursday, leading to all beaches reopening.

Committee members entertained the idea of chained signs at town beach indicating when the water is unsafe. The committee took no action, however, and merely discussed some of the safety and other issues, including potential liability.

On Wednesday, during the closure, beach committee member Tim St. Michel arrived early on scene and five lifeguards were on duty. The gates of Cherry & Webb were closed as well, but people still walked over to catch sight of the huge waves, St. Michel and other officials have said.

Lifeguard Andrew Baptiste noted that there have been three rescues this summer, including last weekend, just before the high waves forced the closure of the state Horseneck Beach and the three town beaches.

Baptiste and fellow lifeguard Evan Audette noted that there are flags on Cherry & Webb beach that mark off the territories, indicating that lifeguards are not available beyond the bounds.

St. Michel said that two out of three of the rescue incidents this year involved people walking beyond and later swimming outside the boundaries. Luckily, all three incidents were minor, St. Michel said.

Audette, the head lifeguard, noted that signs indicating rough waters often get stolen and a chained sign might be the only option. He said even during hurricanes people park close to Cherry & Webb and walk over.

Longtime Beach Committee member Sean Leach concurred that such is the case with all other town beaches, including the Knubble Beach and East Beach.

Newly appointed committee member Constance Gee mentioned that she recently received calls about traffic increasing along the Knubble Beach during Cherry & Webbs closure, as well as reports of people swimming there.

Leach and St. Michel mentioned that all beaches were closed on Wednesday and Selectman Steven Ouellette mentioned it on a Facebook post.

You can put up signs with a chain and people will still be in the water, Leach said.

Gee also asked if the town could be held liable or the Westport Land Conservation Trust could be held liable if someone were to drown at the Knubble Beach. That beach, unlike Cherry & Webb, does not have a gate system to block traffic. It borders a town road Beach Avenue and has WLCT land adjacent to 102 feet of town-owned beachfront. The Knubble and East Beaches also do not have lifeguards on duty, and are known as scenic beaches, not swimming areas, St. Michel has noted.

Leach said the town and the WLCT would not be held liable unless they purposely encouraged people to swim during times of water closures.

In other beach news, the Beach Committee agreed to contact mosquito control about spraying the quarter-mile path from the Cherry & Webb parking lot to the beach. A mosquito with eastern equine encephalitis was confirmed in town this week. Baptiste and Audette confirmed that there is a heavy mosquito presence along the heavily vegetated path leading to the beach.

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Following beach closures, Westport officials talk water safety - SouthCoastToday.com